Update: The Budget and Sea Grant

I would first like to thank those who recently wrote letters or made phone calls to Congress in support of the Florida Sea Grant College Program. On Thursday, July 26, both the House and Senate appropriations sub-committees that handle the budgets for NOAA, the National Science Foundation and other related agencies have met and put out their ‘marks’ for 2018.

In both chambers of Congress, the new proposed budgets equal or exceed Sea Grant’s 2017 budget. While the federal budget has many steps before it is finalized, this is great news, especially after the final version of the President’s FY18 budget eliminated Sea Grant.

We remain confident that Sea Grant will be funded again in 2018 because the program has 50 years of strong bipartisan support in Congress. Sea Grant is a unique and highly practical program. Of the funds that Congress appropriates, 95 percent leave D.C. and go to the 33 state programs. Those funds are used to support research and outreach to solve problems identified as most important by coastal businesses and communities.

We expect to continue addressing the pressing issues affecting the coastal environment and economy for at least 50 more years. Thanks again for your continued support.

Karl Havens

To view some background information about what has been happening with the federal budget in regard to Sea Grant, visit the following posts: